Shane Larkin Not Fearful of Eastern Conference

Hours after LeBron James announced his decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Shane Larkin - fresh off a 10-point, 5-assist performance in the NBA's Summer League opener - shrugged off the news.

"I kind of had a feel for it," Larkin said. "The way things ended for them in the finals – for him to be averaging 30, 10, and 5 and get beat by 30 points – I just had a feeling that team was starting to unravel at the end of last season."

The Miami Heat's big three will at least remain partially in tact, with news today Chris Bosh is returning to the team on a five-year deal. It's also expected Free Agent Dwyane Wade, who played through two rebuilding phases with the team, will sign back on.

While he acknowleged the Heat can still be a good team next year with these two rostered, and cap space remaining, Larkin isn't so sure the people of Miami will be watching.

"It’s gonna go back to how it was before LeBron James came to Miami," Larkin predicted. "Everybody was football, football, football. Then for those 4 years – oh we’re all Miami Heat fans now blah blah blah. Now that he’s gone, it’s gonna go back to average attendance."

A new addition to the East after coming over to the Knicks a few weeks ago in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, Larkin will find himself in the thick of a fairly open conference. While the Cavaliers appear to be destined for titles in the future after the signing of LeBron James, the Knicks' sophomore PG is up to the task of taking them on head-to-head.

"[LeBron]’s gonna be in the East, I’m in the East. it’s gonna be a great game whenever he comes to New York or we go there.”